“always gotta find a racism/sexism angle in everything here in indiana, instead of just a group of guys having fun. and then the people of indiana wonder why everyone around the country looks down upon indiana.”

“I checked the Purdue website and they only mentioned having an EAI & GPA = 3.2 to be admitted into any school of engineering. There were no requirements of ethnicity, gender, creed, sexuality, etc. I noticed that an Asian woman was mentioned as an outstanding instructor. Check it out, Cori: engineering.purdue.edu.”

I'm not trying to trash the Boiler engineers, honest! I put in more than a few links to the website. I applauded Purdue for its minority pipeline program; and my take, on balance, is that the students only had the best of intentions to have fun and promote their school. But: I did think the oped was worth noting and that appearances DO matter.

• And there is a segment out there that agrees with the oped’s call to action. When I told Marcia Oddi at the Indiana Law Blog that I didn’t think the video should be taken down, she responded:

“I do, because the president of the university is in it.”

And Oddi also mentioned something I’d forgotten, but that also has stuck in my own craw: the name of the otherwise commendable annual math and science award created by then-Gov. Mitch Daniels in 2008:

“I complained every year when Daniels announced/presented the Mr. Science/Mr. Math awards to high school students ...”

From Monday:

When I first saw the video “This is Engineering,” I knew it was a hit! A takeoff on “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, the parody promoted the College of Engineering at Purdue University with unusually clever lyrics and a cool look ... plus, a very special guest star: former Gov. Mitch Daniels, now the university’s president.

I loved it. But I did notice too, the conspicious lack of women and minorities in the video — and so did some of you, judging by the posted comments at IndyStar.com and on social media. I wondered if there would be any public response.

Among the reasons they cite, in some very forceful language: no female engineers appear, and there is only one appearance by a non-white student, in a “mocked” role. They wrote, damningly:

“This is indeed hipster racism to a catchy tune.”

Racism ... and hipster racism at that? (What exactly IS hipster racism, a few of you asked?) Throwing the R word in a debate is like napalm on a fire.

Was the white maleness THAT grievous a sin? And to merit YouTube expulsion?

I get the anger. Believe me. If you are a woman taking higher-level math, engineering and other science and technology courses, you feel subtle and even open sexism coming your way, even in 2013. I’ll always remember how a computer science instructor of mine told us hair-raising stories of being singled out by an instructor for mocking and embarassment as the only woman in a technical class, not so long ago.